Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Trey Hendrickson HOLDOUT begins | So much for Monday's optimism!

Episode Date: July 22, 2025

After Bengals owner Mike Brown expressed optimism that a deal would come together with Trey Hendrickson, the guaranteed money gap was too large and it became clear that Hendrickson would begin his holdout on Tuesday morning. Jake Liscow and James Rapien break down the latest in the Hendrickson holdout saga. Plus, we get to injury updates as B.J. Hill and Dax Hill will avoid injury lists and be present for training camp.Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengalsFind and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajsGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Yahoo FantasyPresented by YahooFantasy #YahooPartner. Play Now at yahoofantasy.com/lockedonnflRugiet150,000 men have made the switch →https://Rugiet.com/LOCKEDONNFLUse code LOCKEDONNFL to get 15% off your order!BetterhelpThis episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Your well-being is worth it. Visit BetterHelp.com/lockedonnfl today to get 10% off your first month. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get $150 in BONUS BETS when your first $5 BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There was a glimmer of hope on Monday, but early Tuesday, Trey Hendrickson made his holdout clear, and the Bengals are going to have to get there on guarantees. Let's break it down. You are Locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.

What on Bengals fans and welcome to another episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. I'm Jake Lisco. He's James Rapine, we've been hosting lockdown Bengals collectively since 2016. So if you're looking for a place for daily news, daily analysis on your Cincinnati Bengals, you are in the right place here on Lockdown Bengals. You can hit that subscribe button on YouTube or anywhere.

You get your podcast to join the many everyday listeners out there already. And if you're in every day or we appreciate those great listening habits, even more so if you're one of those out there that makes Lockdown Bengals your first listen. Today we dive back into the Trey Hendrickson situation that is now officially on its way to being a holdout as Trey Hendrickson is no longer present in the state of Ohio. We'll then catch up on everything we didn't get to from Mock Turtle Soup as training camp begins tomorrow. What's going on with Dax Hill with B.J. Hill? What's going on with the offensive guard position? Who's competing there and some roster moves to catch up on James and we didn't have enough time to get to in great depth on Monday?

Today's episode is brought to the people by Monarch Money. You can take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code locked on NFL at Monarch money.com for 50% off your first year. We unfortunately don't have any discount codes to give the Bengals when it comes to Trey Hendrickson, James, as he has left the state after Mike Brown expressed some optimism and shared his opinion that he thought it would get done, that he wanted to get it done, that he thought Trey wanted to get it done. it did not happen unfortunately between the last time we recorded and now as we talk in the early afternoon on Tuesday hold out officially a holdout not going to be present tomorrow for their first practice on Wednesday of camp it's um expected that's what it is it's expected i don't think anyone should overreact naturally on social media people are overreacting and that's fine it didn't feel like it was imminent. I think Mike Brown gave us his thoughts, but I never felt like during that,

even if you felt optimistic, and I think we both did, that things were close, like really close. At least I didn't think it was really close and about to get done. And I would have been surprised if, and I will be surprised if we see Trey until the deal was done. And I think that this is what he's saying. That's why he posted the Instagram story, tagged Florida with a sunrise on Tuesday. Let's everyone know, hey, I'm in Florida. What a funny thing to tag in an Instagram post, by the way. Florida. Well, it's just he didn't want people to know where he lives, right?

Florida. No doubt. Yeah. Welcome to Florida. Where the Bengals apparently have training kit. No. Or Texas for Shamar. Oh, no, wait. I think this is one of those things that, and you asked this yesterday, like, will Tray respond? And Trey responded. All the reporting around it, I think it's very clear. Trey has made his stance on what he wants, what he's looking for, and it's clear that the guaranteed dollars aren't there. I'm not sure that they're there anywhere when it comes to an extension right now in the Bengals and Trey.

I'm not sure they've agreed to average annual value. I don't necessarily think that the year's part is going to be a huge hurdle, but it is a hurdle, especially when you're talking about guaranteed money being the biggest turtle. And everyone has reported that not shocked, given the Bengals history, but this is where they are. And so I'm not going to fret as we record this on July 22nd about Trey not being there for day one of training camp on Wednesday because he's not going to be there barring something really unforeseen. I don't really think that's a big deal. I do know, and I can back this up, Trey does want to get a deal done. Absolutely.

So Mike Brown is right there. Mike clearly wants to get a deal done. He said it to everybody. And so it's going to be about these two sides, bending some. When will that happen is my question. I don't care that Trey's not in camp in the third week of July, essentially, in the first week of camp. But I do want him there a month from now. I do think it's going to start to matter as we get closer to toward the games mattering.

And so that would be my focus if I'm the Bengals and Trey Hendrickson. He's got to stay ready. I have no doubt that he will. And the Bengals, they have to figure out the way to find common ground here because I do think that it's more on their end of not being willing to give the guarantees that Trey's looking for. And I'm sure Trey will hit the ground running. I'm with you there. but I do think that while it's not necessarily a change, like this is kind of expected and it's not something to panic over,

it's still far from ideal, right? Like we're not saying that it's good. We're not saying that everything is fine when we say it's not something to panic over because ideally when you have a new defensive coordinator and you're doing things a little bit differently, you have everyone there so everyone's on the same page. And so the coordinators and the coaches can figure out, okay, we have Trey Hendrickson.

This is how things look with Trey. this is how we can mold things around Trey with having seen him go through the things on the field, instead of just speculating on how he's going to fit based on what he put on tape last year, based on what you think you know Trey Hendrickson is, and probably reasonably can expect Trey Hendrickson to be. But that also goes for Shemar Stewart. That's why it's important to have everyone as present as they can be, more important for Shumar for reasons that we've discussed.

We don't need to go into those today. But while it's not necessarily a shableness, that it's gotten to this point, it's not a good place to be. It's very far from ideal, obviously. And it's not where you want to be to have him not there physically is one thing, to have the distraction is another issue with this, to have this, what, six straight year. It feels like, I don't know, infinite straight year of something that you're dealing with

in training camp from a contract perspective for an important player, not something that you want to deal with is exhausting for fans. I can tell you that for sure based on the response that we saw on Tuesday, and it's not surprising that's a response. They've been dealing with this stuff for years. And the concern then becomes, well, if the issues guaranteed money, let's say they did get there on APY in years. And there's not a great reason to think they did.

It sounds like they moved on APY in years. It sounds like the money did go up. the years may have gone up. If the issue was guaranteed and they were dealing, okay, well, the years did go up. Because if the issue is guarantees now, primarily, that's what's been reported on Tuesday. And previously, they were offering one-year deals,

which was reported, I think, on Sunday. Well, if you're talking about guarantees past year one, you're probably talking about a multi-year deal at that point. So it sounds like they moved on yours. If the issue of guarantees, primarily, it sounds like they moved on money to. But the concern then is, is they never budged on.

guarantees for Jesse Bates. And at the time, we were thinking about the Mulligeta thing. We're thinking about, you know, this is a precedent breaker for the Bengals. But now the Bengals have broken that precedent on non-quarterback contracts. And they did so not just for Jamar Chase, but also for T. Higgins. And from T. Tray's perspective, and I don't say any of this to rag on T. From Tray's perspective, they gave year two guaranteed money to T. Higgins after T. Higgins has been injured, much more than T. Hendrickson has been injured in terms of missing games.

right trade's perspective is he was just second in defensive player of the year voting has all the sack numbers to back it up and if T can get that

well shouldn't shouldn't I get that if I'm Trey Hendrickson I imagine that's part of the thinking there in addition to the consistent frustration we've heard from him

over the years around not having guarantees it's left him in limbo and that's why given their history it's not surprising that they're at this point and I have concerned

that about how it plays out, given their history with guarantees outside of year one. There's a lot there. I think, first of all, when it comes to the guarantee element, I know for a fact, Tray's camp took notice of T. Higgins, Jamar Chase, obviously, and we knew that was going to happen, but T. Higgins also getting guarantees. And Mike Brown hinted at that on Monday. Towards the end, it almost felt like a pie conversation. And it's the video I posted on YouTube.

And right before he felt like he was going to the pie discussion, he's like, well, you give out this much. And then other people want the same amount, the same thing, and kind of hinted at the style of it and not necessarily just the salary. And that's it. That's probably what he's referring to is the guaranteed element of it. And the problem with the Bengals, in my biggest issue with the Trey Hendrickson situation, is really surface level. And it's something that I'm going to share coming up next. Today's show is brought to you by Monarch Money. Monarch Money is going to help you manage your money and it's going to make it easy.

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That's Monarchmoney.com co-locked on NFL for half off your first year. This episode of Lockdown Bengals is sponsored by Ruggiet. You've probably heard of Viagra. You've heard of Cialis at this point. Maybe you've even tried them. but you're looking for something beyond the usual pill. Well, now it's time to meet Ruggiet Ready. Ruggiet ready is a next-gen prescription treatment designed to amplify arousal in the brain

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on NFL to get 15% off today. That's RUGIET.com slash locked on NFL promo code locked on NFL for 15% off. Individual results may vary with prescription treatment. Compounded drugs are permitted to be prescribed under federal law but are not FDA approved and do not undergo FDA safety effectiveness or manufacturing review. Please visit the Brigitte website to view full safety information. My biggest issue with this entire situation, Jake, is not that he's not going to be at camp for the first few days. I don't really care.

But if they had made their offer, whatever it is, and I don't know what it is, but whatever they offered this week, that multi-year deal with whatever is guaranteed, if they made that in January, let's say a week after the season ended, we would. wouldn't be having this conversation. It'd be done. I promise you he would have agreed to it. I promise you the market moved. Everything changed. Everything switched. And that's why we're having all these this conversation. Like I think it would have gotten done. I think they could have gotten him for 28 to 30 million average annual salary. The guarantees they're offering now, I'm sure probably get it done. And I don't know what that number is. But the market moved. And then they broke their

precedent because at that point only Joe Burrow had gotten guarantees in multi-year multi-year and they did that to keep tea and keep Jamar obviously and so then Trey's like all right well I'm definitely in that mix and look at all these defensive ends like it just gave him all of these points to put against them and if they knew deep down that they wanted to keep Trey and I do think that was their plan for the majority of the offseason even with the little trade flirtation that I don't think was that real Then why not just do it? Put your best foot forward then because then it's done and then no one's having this conversation.

So that's my issue. It's not now and that their stance is what it is because now you're in a real negotiation that's going to have to be tough and they're going to be looking at it a certain way. And Trey's going to be looking at it a certain way. But it could have just been done in January. Like literally when Joe Burrow was sitting on the couch watching their season end during quarterback, you could have called Trey as he was going through his day after. rehab following that went over the Steelers and being like, hey, let's work on this and let's get

this done now. And I wish they would have done that. I don't know that I agree that it would have been necessarily done right away, but I think that it probably would be done by now. And the reason is that they could have actually negotiated the whole time. It doesn't feel like there's been movement in these negotiations until now. And that's what's frustrating about it to me is one, there's a late mover issue. I agree with you on the overall point you're making. there, like by waiting, they cost themselves money. They consistently do this. They've been right in the past when they've waited or let guys go that have earned more elsewhere.

And they have a history of being right, but they also have a history of missing on guys that are clearly high performing players in recent history as well. And I mentioned Jesse Bates earlier as a prominent example there. The Bengals aren't the only team in the NFL that has these issues. They're really not. They're not unique in that sense, but they are unique in the sense that it's pulling teeth for years now. And I don't like that I've had to say that so many times

throughout this off season. But if there was an in earnest negotiation, from the time they were negotiated, you know, maybe it's not January, right? Because nothing really happens in contract negotiations in January and the NFL. Maybe it's not until March. Maybe it's not until, you know, free agencies.

Why? Well, it's just the norms of the NFL. Yes, the Bengals could be the one team to do it. But let's put aside. Or the one team not giving guarantees to a star pass rusher after the first year. No doubt. But let's put aside that that bit of criticism, because no one in the NFL does it. But if you start these negotiations the same time, you start the negotiations for Jamar and T,

and you're working all of them, and you've been negotiating the whole time, wouldn't it be done by now? But instead it seems like we've had all this conversation around the lack of communication, the lack of movement in their offer, the lack of earnest negotiation. and then you get to this point where now finally it feels like a normal holdout to me. Now it finally feels like, okay, they've had it. They've discussed things. It's moved a little bit. Now there's some back and forth happening.

Now it feels like a normal holdout. Maybe it's been a normal holdout the whole time. It's just been really public. And because it's been public, it's been really nationally reported at a high level. But I tweeted on Tuesday morning my time that it reminds me that Chris Jones holdout at this point. Similar ages, similar positions. The chiefs have had issues with contracts. guys getting franchised, some guys getting traded in their recent history, some of their better

players. So those things are reminiscent to me, but the frustrating thing that I agree with with what you said there, James, is just like, why did it take so long for this to move at all? And then everything else happened. They did talk at the combine or around the combine, and I know they had some dialogue then, and there were some numbers exchanged then. But then the market shifted. They waited until the league started to work. work. And once that happens and Max gets his deal and then all these other guys get their deals and I don't need to go through it. Well, like, it changes and everything feels different. And it just makes it that much harder. And I think that's what led to the lull that you're talking about that is

annoying and is frustrating because now it's like, all right, well, Gleap is hitting the fan and it's time to get it done. And there's clearly a gap there. And hopefully they can figure it out and figure it out soon-ish. Like, probably I don't expect to see Trey Hendrickson when you're in town, Jake. Spoiler, Jake's going to be in town for the early part of training camp. But like a month from now, I really need to see Trey. Like, I don't care about preseason Trey, like it's been faster. That doesn't matter.

But I do want him to have a few weeks under his new contract mentally and physically just be able to do his thing before that September 7th debut. I don't want him to just sign a deal and then hop on the plane to Cleveland. So ideally you're avoiding a Chris Jones situation. Chris Jones famously, infamously, watching the chief season opener in 2023 from the suite and then signing and playing the next week.

Jesse Bates did that during a preseason game, didn't he? It's sweet. He came up. Preseason game, a little bit different. First preseason game is quite a ways away from week one of the regular season. Oh, no doubt, but like that was awkward. Can you imagine a regular season?

season game. I remember thinking like, I need to try to get the talk to Jesse somehow. And obviously I didn't even leave the press box. But if Trey's there in the regular season watching, I'm definitely trying to talk to him. Sweet talk to security guards. Well, let's avoid getting to that.

Let's avoid it. I agree. I just don't have much faith that it is resolved soon. I think that this is something that will be like we've seen. in recent years it's going to go up to the regular season. I mean, that's their history, right? And at this point, why will we believe that they're doing anything different from their history with Trey from the way it's gone so far?

It's very in line with the way the Bengals standardly operate. And there's going to be a lot of fast start talk. Really hard to start fast when you have this distraction hovering over your entire training camp in preseason, if that's what ends up happening. Really hard. Like, that matters because at worst, he's your fourth best player. I think he's their third best player. And so to not have him all camp and have this hovering, it can't happen.

And yet, you're right, it's entirely possible because I thought a couple of years ago that there's no way Joe doesn't get done before a week one. And he literally signed, signed his paper and got on the flight to Cleveland. That's still stuck with me. I hate it. Anyways, there are plenty of other things we need to get to, including some health updates and some roster moves. There's a new defensive tackle and stripes that could matter. We'll get to that coming up next. This episode is brought to you by Yahoo Fantasy.

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That's Yahoo! Fantasy.com slash locked on NFL. And let's make this fantasy season the best one yet. A lot of discussion when you listen to Al Golden on Monday about the fast start mentality that that doesn't just apply to the regular season. That applies to practices. Are we easing into drills? Are we easing into things at training camp?

We're easing into preseason games. We're easing into the first day back after day off during training camp versus are we hitting the ground running? Are we hitting the ground at a jog? Are we hitting the ground running? A lot of talk around fast starts and that cultural importance, the way they go about doing their business, not just when the regular season arrives, but starting on Wednesday. Also a lot of talk about identifying emerging leaders on defense and the need for multiple leaders in each room on defense.

This, of course, all ties back to Trey Hendrickson's absence. You talk about a distraction. You talk about the absence of one of the best players, if not the best player, almost certainly the best player on your defense. I just say that with a grain of uncertainty because you never know what the season will bring. But your best player last year in Trey Hendrickson on the defense, certainly a respective player on that side of the ball

goes back to what we've talked about where we have mentioned players see the way. these negotiations go with your best players, all of those impacts. But the one bit of good news here is that BJ Hill and Dax Hill, if you listened all the way to the end of our most recent episode, you're up on things. You heard us say, the hills are healthy.

The hills are not on a list. BJ Hill, Dax Hill, will be eased into training camps as they're working their way back from injury. You can't start fast, I guess, when it comes to coming off injury, you've got to get to the point where you can play fast and make. sure that you're doing all the load management things they're doing there. But that bit of good news and the addition of Taven Brian to add out to some depth of that

defensive tackle room, Al Golden saying they're going to keep adding to these spots until they feel like they have what they need. And now he's more satisfied with the defensive tackle depth. When everyone's there, he said he likes their defensive end depth, likes the linebackers they've added called Oren Berks, one of the most under-heralded moves of the offseason. We'll see what that means. Really likes his secondary depth. So what are your thoughts there, James, is we've got some healthy hills.

That's great news that the Taven and Brian moved in, indicate BJ Hill wasn't going to be ready to start. Dax Hill ready to start at the beginning of training camp as they need to find that continuity and figure out where every piece is fitting together in that secondary. I think that's it right there is, one, just health in general. Two, I think they're going to bring both of those guys along slowly. I'm not expecting them to, like, they start Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, three straight practice. this is don't be shocked if you don't see the hills maybe two out of the three they may be the workouts on all three days but actually doing stuff with the team maybe they only go through

individuals one of those days and then one of the days is a rest day and wouldn't shock me at all but i think overall i i i've liked everything that that al has been about and something that that really trying to think i might have said it on yesterday's pod but that stuck with me Logan Wilson over the weekend at Jungle Jam said it was something they needed. It was a change they needed. And I think it's been very cut and dry what he wants. It's very black and white. This is it.

And when you have talented guys that clearly look lost at times last year, I think that's the way to go about it. That's the right approach and message. And I just think that's Al's approach. And so one, from a health standpoint, you know you're going to need BJ. Dax Hill, you really need him to pop this year. You need him to be part of your long-term future by showing that he's a star now. And so the path to that probably starts with a healthy camp, even if he is limited at times. So really good news there.

Overall, though, I just wonder how it's going to come together and can it. And I come back to that because I like what Al's saying. I like a lot of the pieces, but the sum of the parts need to be greater than what we see on paper. And can that happen? We'll see. Does that mean Logan Wilson's got to be healthy? Yes.

Does that mean one of these other linebackers has to step up? Yes. Does that mean the defensive line room needs to be much improved? Like all these things need to happen. And maybe they do, but we need to see it first. And so I'm excited to watch the defense. Like much, not that I'm not excited. ever to watch it. But I'm really excited to watch it just to see how it comes together. Does it fit?

Does it frustrate Joe early on? You hope so. You really need the defense to win early in camp. I feel like that's something you want to see. We'll see if that happens this week. As long as it's not in the trenches again. I mean, we won't watch for that this week for next week. Like, I'm the trick of watching the trenches getting beat up. Like let's see the linebackers in the corners make some plays and some of that, you know? Let's see the past protection hold up a little bit. I mean, they're not going to tackle, but, you know, let's see that in the preseason. Let's see some good tackling in the preseason. The Bengals also did add Taven and Brian to their defensive tackle room.

Tave and Brian, a long-time veteran at this point, drafted back in 2018 in the first round, at the end of the first round by the Jacksonville Jaguars, hasn't really lived up to that first round billing, but has been a rotational beast who's played a lot of NFL football, almost 3,000 snaps in his NFL career. He's going to be a three-tech for the Bengals. I think he's making the roster. I think he's going to be a rotational piece. I think it'll be really interesting to see how that shakes out now with all the bodies they have a defensive end as well.

But let's get to the guard conversation here as well, James. There was no move at guard. The most significant move they made was adding Tavin Brian. The rest could just be camp bodies in the end. But at guard, no move. A lot of people wanted to see that move as part of the flurry of moves Bengals did make on Sunday. And not only no move, but in Dan Pitcher's conversation with you guys yesterday on Monday,

it's very much what it appears. It's Dylan Fairchild in the driver's seat at left guard. It's probably Lucas Patrick in the driver's seat of right guard. And Matt Lee is going to keep playing center. Jalen Rivers is going to focus on tackle. And this is somewhere where, in my opinion, they should be throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, or they should be bringing in a proven veteran, they obviously don't feel like they have to do either of those things.

With Rivers, I think they just want him to get comfortable and he wasn't necessarily comfortable during the off-season program, picking everything up. Hopefully he is by now had that guard flex at Miami in college, and I would love for them to give him a shot, at least on paper. That's not going to happen.

For Lee, I was just curious because a lot of centers can play guard. and I was like, maybe they give him a look. And to Dan pitcher's credit, he was very direct with me. Matt Lee view him as a center, obviously in a pinch. If you need him to play guard, they will. But I think they just view them as a center. And it's interesting because those are two guys where you're like from a past protecting standpoint in college.

And then Matt Lee last year in the preseason, they showed something. Is it enough? I'm not sure, but they do feel like good fits. I also get trying Rivers at tackle. That's where he would be most valuable if he does end up being a valuable swing tackle, unless, and here's the big one, he can be your starting right guard.

Clearly they don't view him that way, which is really unfortunate. At the same time, if they don't think he's ready for it, I get it. But it sucks because the moment he was drafted, I was like, man, that can be a sleeper right guard in starting for you. They signed Lucas Patrick.

That wasn't necessarily an inspiring veteran signing. Clearly, they believe in him. But, man, I wish one of these guys would be in the mix, just in case, because you're really one injury away from Cody Ford or Cordell Voulson. And that's assuming that Fairchild and Patrick are the answer at both guard spots. Yeah. And the thing with Rivers on top of, if it is a comfort level thing, it's like there's nobody else. to be a swing tackle.

The other options are thin. The depth they have a tackle right now is pretty bad. Last year, felt better about it because Trent Brown was around. He didn't make it very long into the season. That depth was very quickly tested. But this is a league that will test your depth. And we're talking about all these depth spots on defense

where they've built out some depth in a lot of positions, even if the top end isn't there. And on the offensive line, there are some guys that have been around that have played NFL football, but it's really hard to build depth at that position effectively in the NFL. Outside of that damn pitchers comments, mostly I thought we're pretty encouraging, like making people feel the continuity that they have aspect of things

is something that I'm really interested to see how that plays out. The obvious skill player strength that they have, how they're catering to those skill positions, how good they feel about their depth at certain spots in terms of those skill players, especially the role for Taj Brooks as he's going to come along in the NFL. There's a lot to feel good about with this offense. So don't want it to be like a guard dooming segment,

and that's the takeaway from Dan pitcher. That's not it. It's just if there is a part where we're concerned on offense, that's obviously it right now. And we'll see how those, those battles shake out and how ready Dylan Fairchild and and Lucas Patrick are for the starting jobs. Yeah. I mean, the two weaklings, I would say we are weakest positions would be guard and tight at.

Those are two spots where one injury, I'm talking about on offense, one injury and you're like, obviously quarterback, you know, the whole world revolves around Joe, but you get my point. And so we'll see. but the guard spot is something we're going to be paying attention to very, very closely. It doesn't mean the offense shouldn't be awesome. They expect to be really, really good in a bunch of areas and expect to be better in the areas that they were really, really good in last year. So we'll see if they can take that next step. They need to.

And there's a lot of pressure on these coaches. That's the other thing as we wrap up. On Wednesday on, just watching and looking at these coaches, you have a new offensive line coach, new defensive coordinator and really a whole new defensive staff outside of a few guys. It's going to be interesting to see how morning practice goes on Wednesday, Jake, let's go. Yeah, the next episode you hear from us will be a practice recap as the Bengals are kicking off training camp on Wednesday.

James is excited now for day one. Yeah, baby. But like how Golden says on day eight, it gets harder. On day 18, it gets even harder. But we will have you covered here for all of Bengals training camp as we are geared up for football. Football's back. That means it's back. Training camp means you're not watching on TV, but it means football is back in a way that it hasn't been since last winter. And that's exciting stuff. Until next time, thanks for listening to this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast,

Hootay. And have a good one.